Two young female leaders of the immigrant rights movement died suddenly this past Sunday. Tam Tran and Cinthya Felix, both vocal advocates for undocumented students at UCLA and nationally, died after a car collision in Trenton, Maine, according to friends.
Tran graduated from UCLA in 2006 and was pursuing a PhD at Brown University. She was also a talented filmmaker whose documentary, Lost and Found, was widely circulated among immigrant rights supporters. Felix graduated from UCLA in 2007 and was the first undocumented student to attend Columbia’s School of Public Health. She wanted to become a physician and serve her community.
Both women strongly advocated for passage of the DREAM Act, a bipartisan bill that would offer undocumented youth a conditional path to citizenship.
Those who knew Tran and Felix say the best way to honor their memory is to continue to fight for the rights of undocumented students who only want the opportunity to live out their American dream. Read more about these courageous women here. The UCLA community is holding a memorial tribute today.
